STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVE HOENIG/FLATIRAKFOTOS.COM
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e
AMA Hot Shoe Natio nal
Series rolled into the Peo ria
Mot o rcycle Clu b's ve nerable Speedway Park, and fo r
several of the participants it
was the end of a long weekend . A Pro Am short track in Plymout h, Wsconsin,
followed by an AMA Natio nal Hot Shoe
half-mile in Dayto n, O hio , led up to the
"spring " TT in Illinois.
Desp ite a threatening weather forecast , 34 Experts and 22 Pro-Sports were
set to co ntest the Hot Shoe Natio nal
unde r sunny. warm cond itions, and
Coziahr
Harley-Davids o n/N at ion al
Cycle's John ny Murph ree proved to be
the biggest threat. Murphree too k the
lead fro m KTM USN Jones Pow erspo rt s'
Joe Kopp comi ng off turn two of the fifteen lap main and was never hea de d.
Perhaps the most important eve nt
happened before the flash of the green
light as pole sitte r J.R. Schnabel jumped
48
JUNE 30 , 2004 •
the start o n his Memphis Shades/Parts
Unlimited-backed Yamaha. Fresh off his
Springfield Nationa l win and last year 's
Peoria Nat iona l win, the Wiscons in veter an was the fastest rider all day, w inning the fastes t qualifying and regular
heats .
O nce in fro nt Murp hree rattled off 15
co nsisten t laps fo r the w in. Henry Wiles
blasted his Mack Daddy Hond a into secon d, but he cou ld not mo unt a challenge
for t he lead . Kopp slippe d off the pace
slight ly as SJS Racing/ Paul Seliskar/Parker
Sto res' Rob Pearso n and Do c's Harley.
Davidson/KK Supply's Bryan Smith battled over fo urt h. Bartels' HarleyDavidso n/T NT Act ion Sports' Shau n
Russell and Gardn e r Racing's Bryan
Bigelo w he ld down fifth and sixth . Smith
started to fade as Pearso n closed on
Ko pp.
At the halfway point , Murphree and
Wiles were cruising, w hile Ko pp and
CYCLE NEWS
Last year's Peoria GNC winner, J.R. Schnabel (33), was fast qualifier at
the Hot Shoe event. A mistake in the main cost him a shot at victory.
Shaun Russell (28) finished fifth, Schnabel seventh .
40th Anniversary
